


Stop to Smell the Roses

by PandoraButler



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All The Ships, Alternate Universe, Avatar, Avatar the Last Airbender, F/F, F/M, Florist AU, Flowers, M/M, Modern AU, Voltron, crossover fics ftw, i promise it's worth it, just read plz, vld
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-01 07:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15769755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandoraButler/pseuds/PandoraButler
Summary: Keith works in a florist shop. He lives his life as usual when one day a male walks in that changes his life forever. Is this love at first sight? Or is he simply misunderstanding?





	1. Sophia

Keith stood behind the register and stared at the door. No individual in their right mind entered this store at this time under  _any_  circumstances. He didn't know why he bothered to stay. He sighed. He stared. Flowers surrounded him on all sides. This wasn't the job of the century. It was just  _a_  job. He was working to help out a friend. The owners of this shop were flower nerds and he'd known them since forever. He couldn't help but feel their passion rub off on him and found himself wanting to help out more and more. He liked it. He hated it. But, most importantly, flowers just smell  _nice_. Call him crazy but this place made him calm. He was too much of an anxious noodle to work anywhere else. 

He sighed again. No one. Still no one. Except Zuko. He also happened to be a big flower nerd. He was currently watering flowers and trying his best to ignore the sighing Keith behind the register. It wasn't working. Every time Keith sighed, Zuko wanted to burst into flames. Enough was enough. However, just as he was about to scold the guy for sighing, the door opened. Someone entered the store. Both workers stood stone still. This defied the laws of nature. 

Was he an illusion? Was this a dream? Were they in the Matrix? There was no possible way a living human was standing before them at the slowest point in the day. Right? The guy was ignorant to the shock that he caused and wandered around the store looking at the flowers. His eyes light up in the most adorable way when he found the roses. Keith wanted to hit himself for thinking that. Adorable? Really Keith? Calm your balls.

"My darling sophia!" he exclaimed. Zuko glanced at Keith. Keith glanced at Zuko. This guy was a nutcase, wasn't he? Please just pay for the flowers or leave. These two individuals don't want any trouble. 

"I'll take twenty," he announced. Zuko picked them up carefully and wrapped them into a bouquet. Keith mentioned the price and collected the cash. He refused to ask why the guy had called roses 'sophia' even though he was dying to know. Instead, he just made small talk. Maybe that would lead him to the conclusion.

"Did you get them for a girl?" Keith asked. The guy blinked in confusion. Oof. He spoke too soon. Keith. Why are you like this? Should've just ignored it. This is why you can't get a boyfriend. This is why you're still single. 

"What?" 

"The, uh, roses, did you get them for someone?" Keith was feeling embarrassed. He could sense Zuko snickering in the corner. He shouldn't have said anything. Damnit. Not to mention he just  _assumed_  this stranger's sexuality. Keith hated himself right now. But, he always had the excuse of this guy entering the store at the wrong time. Yep. Let's go with that. 

"Oh!" the guy's eyes lit up. He looked amused. "Is this your way of asking me about 'sophia'?" Keith wanted to jump off the nearest bridge. Why was he so embarrassed? Why did he try to be roundabout? He should've just asked outright. Tf. Why was he like this? Blame it on the time of day. Flee from your responsibility like...

"The names 'Sophie' and 'Sophia' are from the Greek root, σοφία, meaning 'wisdom.' When I was a kid, a relative used to tell me that the heart had a different type of wisdom from the brain. Since red roses typically symbolize romance and love, the most common of a heart's troubles, she always called them 'sophia' and it just stuck with me," the guy looked a little embarrassed to admit this. Keith felt a bit better knowing that they both were hopeless when it came to simple human functions such as conversation. 

Keith didn't know how to respond to such an explanation. So, he didn't. He just let the guy pick up his flowers and walk out without even saying another word. Once the door closed, Zuko shook his head and carried on with his business. Keith threw a pen at the back of his head. He could feel him judging and he didn't like it. 

"Shut up," Keith frowned.

"I didn't say anything," Zuko rubbed the back of his head where the pen hit.

"But you  _thought_  it," Keith glared, "and that is  _just_  as annoying."

"I wasn't  _thinking_  anything either," Zuko glared back.

"Yes you were. Care to share with the rest of the class? Or should I keep throwing pens?" Keith gestured to the cup filled with pens. There were plenty just  _waiting_  to be thrown at someone. Someone with a scar on the left side of his face. Someone that was currently working in the same shop as Keith.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Zuko replied. Keith threw another pen. Zuko caught it without even looking. Keith's jaw dropped. He did it again. And again. He just kept throwing pens and Zuko caught each one. What kind of ninjusu did he learn? Is he secretly training to be Hokage and Keith just didn't know? 

"I've run out of pens," Keith sighed. He couldn't continue his observation of the mystical Zuko's powers. There is something freaky going on with that guy and Keith was dying to figure it out. But, for now, the All-powerful Zuko won this round. Keith put a mental sticky-note in his mind to remind him to buy all the pens in Staples on the way home. He'd get revenge. Everything would change when Keith attacked tomorrow.

Zuko threw the pens right back at Keith. However, he was a bit nicer about it and instead of throwing them  _at_  Keith he threw them back into the cup. Keith's eyes followed each and every pen as they flew one after the next. Alright. Keith needed whatever magical protein shake Zuko was drinking to give him this level of skill. He could understand  _one_  pen.  _All_  of the pens? Without missing a  _single_  one? That was some next level shit right there and he didn't understand an ounce of it. 

"I don't know what planet you came from but I speak for all of Earth when I say this," Keith paused, "please become our Lord and Savior."

Zuko laughed. He didn't refuse. He just laughed. Keith had no regrets. He was fully prepared for the day this guy became World Leader Zuko. Yep. He is placing his vote now. Let that be known. Zuko for World Leader. Keith sighed again. His mind drifted back to the stranger that had just bought roses. Would Keith be seeing him again? He watched the clock. Time was going by so slowly. The day felt like it would go on forever. 

"Should've asked for his number," he mumbled.


	2. Prudent

The shop had been empty just moments before. However, now there were four individuals standing in it. This didn't include Zuko or Keith. Two of them female. Two of them male. One of them the same individual as the day before. If it had been  _just_  the guy from yesterday Keith might've said something. Something silly like 'Are you here for more sophias?' Except he wasn't alone. There were three other strangers. Keith didn't like it. He would much rather go hide in the backroom and leave Zuko to do everything. The only reason he wasn't doing this was because Zuko would laugh at him later for running away. Keith had the right to be a coward now and then. Right? Right.

"This shop is simply adorable," one of the girls said. "I can't believe I haven't noticed it before," she smiled to the other girl that was dressed in blue. Her hair was dark while the one that spoke had extremely light hair. It looked white to Keith but he couldn't tell. The lighting wasn't good in this store. 

"I cannot believe you dragged us into this girly place," one of the guys said. It wasn't the person from yesterday. It looked more like a sibling to one of the girls. Keith constructed a little chart in his mind. It was the only way he could keep from panicking in this situation. Girl B was related to Boy B. Boy A couldn't take his eyes off of Girl A. Boy A was probably crushing on Girl A. One of the roses he bought yesterday was in Girl A's hair. Definitely a crush. Plot twist: Girl A was crushing on Girl B. Her eyes hadn't wandered from Girl B for long. Unless she was looking at a flower. Boy B kept glancing at Zuko. Keith snickered. He shipped it. Zuko kept looking at Girl B. Did they know each other? 

"It's not  _that_  girly," Girl B frowned. "Zuko works here. It can't be that bad. Besides, the fact that you think flowers are  _girly_  shows how little you know about the world. Flowers are beautiful. There is nothing wrong with some good old fashioned plants."

"The very fact that Zuko didn't tell us he worked here shows how girly it is," Boy B crossed his arms. 

"You never asked," Zuko shrugged. Boy B glared. He clearly wanted to leave. Maybe he was looking at Zuko because he was mad at him for keeping a secret. Keith preferred to think that he had a crush. It was more fun that way. Forget about logic. Ships needed to be built.

In the corner of Keith's eye he could see a potted plant falling off the shelf. It was going to fall directly onto Girl B's head. "Look out!" he warned. The plant fell. She didn't move fast enough. Zuko did. Girl A did too. The two of them caught the plant in sync while Girl B was left dumbfounded. Keith could've sworn that Girl A's eyes shot daggers at Zuko. Great. Love triangles. That's fun. 

"Katara, are you okay?" Zuko asked before Girl A had the chance. More daggers. He placed the pot back on the shelf. This time he made sure it wouldn't fall off. 

"This place is girly  _and_  dangerous. That's it, I'm waiting outside," Boy B threw his hands in the air and walked out the door. Someone's jealous of the attention his sister gets. Keith snickered silently. 

"Allura, your hand is bleeding," Boy A pointed. The pot must've had a crack or something in it. Boy A definitely had a thing for Girl A. This was as good as confirmed in Keith's mind. He could see it in his eyes. This injury was the perfect time for Keith to step into this whole convoluted interaction. He grabbed the box of band-aids by the register and threw it at Zuko. Ninja skills prevailed. Zuko caught them without so much as a glance. 

Zuko took out a couple of band-aids and handed them to Girl A, or Allura as Boy A had mentioned. "Sorry for my slow reflexes," Girl B, or Katara as Zuko had mentioned, said.

"So much for you attempting to be 'a prudent woman'," Allura frowned. "You can't even make the sensible decision to avoid a falling pot."

Katara laughed albeit nervously. "It was a temporary motto.  _Temporary_. Why do you keep bringing it up whenever I make a mistake?" 

"In Latin, the verb 'providere' means 'to foresee.' A 'prude' has the foresight to avoid bad behavior. However, the word is connected to 'pride' and not clairvoyance. The word 'prude' has changed a lot though. The same is true for any word," Zuko said. Silence filled the air. Keith was used to Zuko's strange rants. They happened at random. He wasn't sure what triggered them. Was it just a nervous tic?

As if realizing he had just said something strange, Zuko changed the subject, "Were you planning on getting any flowers?" he asked. 

"Oh! That's right! We came here to get flowers for my mother!" Katara said. And, just like that, Zuko's strange word fact was forgotten. The group hurried along with their purchase and left. Keith felt a weight being lifted off of his shoulders. He liked this place the best when it was just him and Zuko. 

"I, for one, think your ramblings are most interesting," Keith attempted to cheer Zuko up.

"If only everyone was just as interested as you," Zuko smiled a half-hearted grin. "Looks like you still won't know the name of your mystery flower man. Are you ever going to introduce yourself? Or do I have to set you up using my own sources?" Zuko snickered.

"No, thanks, I'm perfectly fine," Keith glared. He reached for a pen but stopped. Zuko would only catch it. He'd have to figure out a new throwing technique. Or a new weapon. Whichever came first.

"You'll never get a date if you keep acting like that."

"You'll never get one either if you don't stop this unrequited love of yours."

"Was it that obvious?" Zuko looked surprised. Well, to any normal person they wouldn't be able to tell. Keith was just an expert people watcher. Years of avoiding people left him with years of being alone. Years of being alone left him with nothing to do but observe. He wasn't Sherlock Holmes but he was at least a Dr. Watson after hanging out with Holmes for a while.

"Clear as crystal," he replied. Keith stared at the door. It wasn't unusual for the shop to get a few customers now and again. It was unusual, however, to get the same customer day after day. Would he appear again tomorrow? Why was he coming back repeatedly anyways? Keith yawned. He wanted to take a nap.


	3. Shvitz

Keith let out a long sigh. Yet again, there were more people in the shop. He understood the fact that this was a  _store_  and it needed to sell flowers to stay alive but, was it really necessary for all of these customers to keep coming so soon after each other? Was this planned by the government? Like wtf. Go home. What are you going to do with so many flowers?

"Holy shvitz! I've never even heard of some of these flowers before!" the androgynous looking pole bean spoke. Keith wanted to cry. It looks like these two newcomers weren't going to leave. He just wanted to have a nice calm evening. Tyvm. One that didn't involve new people. Or even Mr. Stranger from the past two days.

"You? Not hear of something? That's kind of scary," the, probably friend, said. He looked a little overweight but it wasn't terrible. Keith had seen worse. This guy was still closer to 'chubby it's almost cute' and less 'if you sit on me I'll die.'

"What the fuck is a 'shvitz'?" Keith mumbled. It was just loud enough for his boss to hear. He frowned. Whoops. Sorry Shiro. Didn't realize you were Captain America when it came to profanity. Keith rolled his eyes. It wasn't like the customers heard him. 

"'Shvitz' is the Yiddish word for 'sweat' it was used as slang to refer to saunas or steam baths. However, this individual seems to be using it as a replacement word for 'shit,'" Zuko whispered to Keith. Nice job Keith. Apparently the only person who thought you were quiet was yourself. 

"Uhm," the androgynous smol bean spoke, "can I have one of those? And those? And one of those too?" they said whilst pointing. Keith smiled, just a bit, it was always comforting to see people fail at human conversation just like he did. Zuko, swift as the coursing river, immediately assisted the said customer. Customer then paid. Customer then left. Keith silently applauded. There was no one here! Yay! He can go back to slacking off and doing nothing. Congratulations.

"Keith, you need to watch your language," Shiro scolded. Keith liked it better when he was on vacation. The guy couldn't give him useless parental conversations when he wasn't here.

"Uh huh," Keith acknowledged but refused to comply. 

"You act like you haven't done the same thing," Adam snickered. Keith didn't notice him there. Well, Keith barely noticed him as it was. He was too focused on Shiro half the time to even glance in his direction. Let's be real. Adam was cute, sure, but Shiro was  _fine_. Keith was valid in his lack of self control. Plus, he had been crushing on Shiro since... _always_. The fact that he was married to Adam was of little importance. 

"You two should take the rest of the day off," Shiro said. Uhm, what? Great. He said one word one time and now he was supposed to go do nothing someplace else? Fantastic. This spot behind the register was  _his_ tyvm. No one else was allowed to sit in this chair. 

"Why?" Zuko asked so Keith didn't have to. Thanks, Zuko, you da best.

"Well, you guys have been here nonstop while we were away. Don't you want a break?" Shiro said. Keith looked at Zuko. Zuko looked at Keith. Neither of them felt 'overworked' in this situation.

"It's just a day," Adam smiled. "Humor him."

And, just like that, the two were kicked out of the store and forced to do this strange thing called 'relaxing.' What is that? A disease? Keith didn't remember the last time he was forced to do something other than sit on that chair behind the register. What do normal people do? Socialize? Ew. Is that a disease too?

Keith sighed. It was his favorite pastime. Sighing. He didn't have any hobbies and he didn't feel like doing anything. He lived and breathed working in that store. Maybe Shiro was right. He needed to get out more. Maybe he was a little too obsessed with trying to help out his longtime childhood crush. Shiro was too dense to catch on. Did Adam say something? Damnit. Husbands these days.

"Oh look, it's your boyfriend," Zuko pointed across the street. Sure enough. Mr. Stranger was walking with the guy from yesterday. 

"Looks like your boyfriend too," Keith mumbled in retaliation. Luckily, Zuko didn't hear that. Keith made eye contact with the sophia stranger and the guy ran across the street to him. 

"What the hell?! Do you want to get run over?" Keith snapped. It was probably the time in his life he snapped at someone he didn't know. Most of the time he just thought things. He rarely ever said things. Saying things was weird and uncomfortable. Does that mean this guy makes him comfortable? When they have only ever had one conversation?

"It's fine," he smiled, "there were no cars."

"You didn't even  _look_ ," Keith frowned. He gestured to the other guy who at least looked before he followed behind, "At least your friend isn't an idiot."

"Trust me, he totally is," he laughed. "We are the dumb ones. I'm Lance and this is Sokka," he pointed as he introduced himself. "You're Zuko and you're Keith. Right? Sokka talks about you a lot," he looked at Zuko then back to Keith. 

"How do you know my name?" Keith's inner voice was becoming his outer voice and he wanted to die. He could feel Zuko staring at him like he had just been replaced by an Alien Keith. 

"You have a name tag," Lance snickered. Keith looked down and, sure enough, there was one there. 

"Fuck," Keith stared at the piece of plastic, "identity theft is strong in the workforce," he observed. Keith wanted to jump into the street and get run over at this point. Why couldn't he stop saying things? Conversations were weird. He wasn't saying a single thing that made sense. Well, to be fair, the only people he ever talked to were Shiro, Adam, Zuko, and maybe a random customer. 

"Are you guys not working today?" Lance asked. Keith was thankful for the change in conversation topic. 

"We were forced to take some time off," Zuko answered. Thank you, Zuko, you are the World Leader everyone needs, but not the one that people deserve. Because people don't deserve shit.

"That's great! Do you want to see a movie? I have two extra tickets since Katara and Allura bailed," Lance suggested. Sokka looked nervous. Was this a lie? Was this a plot for world domination? Excuse you, Sir, Zuko is World Leader. 

Keith opened his mouth to refuse but Zuko accepted on his behalf, "Sure," he said, "we don't have anything better to do anyway." Code Red. Code Red. We have a Code  _Red_. Zuko, why? You had one job. You just accepted a movie ticket from a couple of complete strangers. Wait. Actually you already know Sokka, don't you? Fuck. Keith is outnumbered. Three against one. He has no choice but to play along. 

Just you wait, Lance, one day Keith will assassinate you in your sleep to establish Zuko's World Leader position. Where the fuck did you come from anyway? Outer space? Why are you suddenly appearing everywhere? Must be a stalker. That's the only explanation. And the only thing Keith could think about the entire way to the theater. Stalkers. Weird creeps. 


	4. Tmesis

"I can't believe I let you drag me into that movie exchange," Keith glared at Zuko. The two were walking home and just so happened to be going in the same direction. 

"Don't act like you hated it," Zuko smiled. "You had a good time flirting with Lance."

"It wasn't  _flirting_!"

"Mhmm, sure," Zuko smirked.

"It wasn't," Keith frowned. He was only trying to distract the enemy, not flirt. He also wanted to give Sokka a chance to woo Zuko. For the good of the ship. The two complimented each other well. Like fire and water. Keith swore that made better sense in his head. Fire and water was not the best combination. Of all the things to choose from...

"Do you at least admit to enjoying the movie itself?" Zuko questioned.

"Sure, it was fan-fucking-tastic," Keith rolled his eyes. In reality, the movie was just like every other action movie out there. It wasn't that great. It wasn't that bad. It was just a movie. 

"Excellent use of tmesis, but you're loaded with sarcasm," Zuko sighed. He didn't have a problem with being Keith's only friend but he did wish that Keith at least  _tried_  to open up to other people. It was almost as if Keith was stuck in some sort of box. 

"Well, this is where we part ways," Zuko waved and walked in a different direction. Keith was stuck traveling alone at night. It wasn't the best thing for someone who was known to be paranoid. Serial killers could be lurking at every corner. You never know. He most certainly wasn't flinching at every single noise. That wasn't what he was doing at all. Nope. 

Keith kicked a rock as he walked. He was almost home. Almost. Just another step or two. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped so high he thought for sure he would get stuck in a tree. "The hell?" he turned around to see Lance standing there. "What the fuck? Is it a hobby of yours to just sneak up behind people in the night? Think you're Batman?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Lance apologized. How did this guy even get here? Wasn't he walking in the other direction when the two parted ways?

"I wasn't scared, I was surprised, there is a  _difference_ ," Keith defended himself. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to  _surprise_  you," Lance corrected himself. Keith didn't feel better. Not one ounce. He just wanted to know what caused him to get a new stalker. 

"What do you want?" he questioned. Lance reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out a phone. That's funny, it looked like Keith's phone. Wait. It  _was_  Keith's phone. 

"You dropped your phone and I've been trying to catch up with you for ages to return it," Lance held the phone out to Keith. "You and Zuko walk incredibly fast. I wasn't planning on following you all the way home but you looked so tense when Zuko left. I wasn't sure if I should call out to you or not," he explained. 

"So  _touching_  me was your next best plan?" Keith frowned and snatched his phone out of Lance's hand. Those noises he'd been hearing weren't his imagination. There really was a psycho out on the streets tonight and his name was Lance.

"I know," he scratched the back of his neck, "it was kind of dumb."

Keith hated to admit that he was relieved someone else had shown up. He didn't want to ask Lance to walk him the rest of the way home. The two barely knew each other and it would be weird to ask something so silly. Keith was just paranoid. He shouldn't let his fears get in the way of reason. The guy had shown up by chance. It wasn't fate. It was coincidence. 

"Since I'm already here, can I walk you home?" Lance asked. 

"What?" 

"We don't know much about each other so I just thought maybe now would be a great time to start," Lance made up some excuse. In reality, he just figured Keith looked like he needed a buddy. 

"You think I'm just going to let you walk me home? We're practically strangers. Why would I show a stranger where I live?" Keith said. He immediately regretted it. He should've accepted the offer. He didn't want to be alone. 

"Fair point," Lance admitted. "Guess I'll be leaving then," he paused as if he was trying to think of something else to say. He couldn't think of anything and turned to leave.

"Wait," Keith began, "how long have you had my phone? I don't remember dropping it," he questioned. He'd never felt it fall out of his pocket. It seemed strange to think it just magically appeared in Lance's hands. If the guy returned it he must not be that terrible of a person. Unless he stole the phone just so he could follow Keith. People like that don't actually exist, right? 

"You don't remember?" 

"Remember what?"

"You fell asleep during a portion of the movie and fell on me!" Lance's voice got a bit louder due to his shock. "We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!"

"There is  _no_  way that happened," Keith felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. That couldn't have happened! He wasn't the type to fall asleep in a movie! And even if it  _did_  happen he would fall on Zuko. Not some stranger. But if, hypothetically speaking, it  _did_  happen, which it didn't, his phone could've fallen out in a scenario like that. 

"That hurts," Lance sighed, "just when I thought we were getting closer. You really hate making friends, don't you?" Keith was taken aback by this. It wasn't like he hated making friends. He just found it hard to trust people. 

"Thanks for returning my phone," he once again began the journey back home. He didn't want to think about this anymore. He just wanted to curl up in bed and cuddle his dog. 


	5. Caduceus

Lance had recently moved into the neighborhood but that didn't change the fact that he'd known Sokka, Katara, and Allura for years. He'd met them online. Part of the reason he didn't hate moving for the umpteenth time was because he knew that he'd get to see them again. He wasn't expecting to meet Keith. He didn't even know that someone like Keith existed. Would things have changed if they had meet sooner? Would he have had more of a chance with him? Lance wasn't smart enough to find the answers to these types of questions so he didn't bother trying to think about them.

Lance had spent most of his days pining for Allura. But, recently, after seeing how close she was with Katara in person, he felt his romance was futile. He'd stopped into the flower shop the first time for Allura. That much was true. But, instead he met Keith. Part of him felt like the flowers he bought should be for him. He knew how awkward it would be if he just gave them to him, that's why he just decided to show his friends the flower shop the next day. He wanted to know if Keith would remember him or not. He didn't find out the answer to that question until day three, when they all went to the movies. 

Lance was rather perceptive of what other people's feelings were. He knew just by observing Sokka that Sokka had a crush on Zuko. So, he created the plan to invite Keith and Zuko out. The truth of the matter was that he hadn't even asked Katara and Allura if they wanted to see a movie. That was his Plan B if Zuko and Keith refused. But, by using them as the excuse, and saying they bailed, it all worked out in the end. He hadn't been planning on trying to get closer to Keith. He was just trying to help Zuko and Sokka get closer. He was attempting to be a messenger. He wanted to follow in Hermes' footsteps and provide the news that, yes, Zuko and Sokka would make a great couple. Instead, however, Lance felt like an incorrectly used Caduceus mistaken for the Rod of Asclepius. In short, his plan wasn't working like he thought it would. Instead of helping get his friend with his crush, he found himself forming a small crush of his own. 

Keith was unnecessarily wary of him. Maybe Keith just wasn't good at dealing with people. In any case, he was making it difficult for Lance to form any sort of connection. That's why, when Keith fell asleep using Lance as a pillow, he felt a small twinge of hope. Keith's phone hadn't dropped out of his pocket. Lance took it. He wanted to give Keith his number after the movie and then provide the excuse that Keith had dropped his phone. It didn't work out quite as he had planned. Lance had gotten too invested in the conversation the group had about the movie that he forgot all about the extra phone in his pocket. It wasn't until the two hard parted ways that he remembered. 

Lance had given Sokka some excuse and rushed back to find Keith. He wanted to catch up with him and solve this whole problem he created. Unfortunately, Zuko and Keith were fast walkers. It took him a while to catch up and when he did Keith was even  _more_  skeptical of him. His plan had backfired. It was depressing. 

Now, as he sat on his bed and stared at the wall, he had no idea how to go around getting closer to Keith. He was doomed to a life of unrequited loves. It was fate. He sighed. 

Keith, on the other hand, didn't know the first thing about romance. His eyes had always been set on Shiro for as long as he could remember. He couldn't tell you the difference between love for a family member or love for a romantic partner. There was never a reason for him to figure it out. He hadn't had any sort of "special" anything. All he had was Shiro. Keith's life at home was a bit  _complicated_. His dad died at a young age and his mom was never around. Shiro was a friend of the family and essentially was a father figure, brother, and crush all in one. Keith couldn't really differentiate any of it. There had only been  _one_  person in his life. 

He didn't much care for romance. He didn't know the meaning of the word when applied to him. However, he liked fantasizing about other people's relationships. He is a shipper. Basically. Always and forever. The idea that someone would ever look at him in the way that Shiro looked at Adam, it never crossed his mind. It wasn't an option. It didn't exist. He thought that no one in the world was out there for him and just accepted his eternal loneliness. Besides. He had Shiro. He had his dog. And he was 99.9% certain Zuko had adopted him now too. There would at least be a few friends. Did anything else really matter?

So, when Lance had run after him. He was confused. He wasn't the type to lose his phone. He wasn't even the type to go to the movies with someone he'd met just a couple of times. He didn't understand why he was always caught up in the moment when Lance was around. Was he trying to impress someone? He sat down on his bed. He sighed. He stared at the wall. He looked at his phone and noticed that his wallpaper had changed to become a selfie of Lance holding a napkin with his number on it. Should he text him? He should at least say thanks for returning the phone, right? One thing was certain: he needed to create a new password. 

He angrily typed a message and refused to send another one. But, after the first one was sent, he found himself not complying with his earlier decree. He ended up in a steady back and forth. A texting conversation. He didn't hate it. Lance wasn't a terrible guy. Keith found himself smiling at his phone. Something must be wrong with him. What else could possibly be the cause?


End file.
